Duncan Black graduated from the University of Northumbria with a first in mechanical engineering design and technology in 2006. He has spent the past 18 months travelling and working in Australia. He wants a design engineering job within the oil industry. We ask two experts to drill through his CV.

While Duncan has done well to separate his CV into sections, and to include the profile at the top of the first page, there are a number of ways that the overall CV could be improved - both in terms of its presentation and content.

The use of separate sections is good, but these could be defined better through the use of bold headings for each section or border lines between them. This would give greater clarity to the CV, making it easier to read and more aesthetically pleasing.

Key skills sections are a contentious issue, with some parties for and some against their use in a modern CV. Either way, Duncan has afforded too great an emphasis on this section by placing it directly underneath the profile. It would be better to incorporate his main skills within the profile, leaving information such as IT proficiency and driving licence at the end of the CV.

Duncan has written the CV in the first person, which isn't recommended. The third person should be used throughout. He has also used a mixture of past and present tense in the work experience section and, with consistency being fundamental, it is probably best to use the present tense throughout. The use of bullet points would help individual responsibilities and achievements stand out more.

The subject of the degree and the grade are much more important than the institution studied at, so the CV should reflect this. Achievements could be highlighted in a separate section of their own and it's not usual to list all GCSE subjects studied.

The interests section should just be a brief summary rather than a paragraph of information.

Employability

BP's head of graduate and MBA resourcing

Many recruiters advocate the use of a personal profile. Unless there is a unique selling point, it is best to avoid these as they use up space and repeat information that is shown elsewhere in the CV. Duncan should certainly remove his age - age discrimination legislation means that most recruiters would prefer not to have this on the CV.

Duncan should include his relevant university modules in this section and tailor this to the roles for which he is applying. The fact that he has highlighted his health-and-safety skills demonstrates to oil and gas recruiters that he understands the importance of this in relation to his role. By using bullet points to describe his work experience Duncan's CV would feel punchier and allow potential employers to view experience quickly. He should review all of his work experience through the lens of "what difference did I make to the business?" So rather than describing his activities about health and safety he can talk about the positive impact of this on the workplace. He should also think about the connection that he can draw between his university learning and his work experience.

It is important for Duncan to demonstrate how he can apply technical knowledge in real life. Duncan could make more of his work placement: was it a competitive process to get the placement; how did this contribute to his final university year; did his employer offer him a role at the end of the placement? Again, what difference did he make and what competencies did he develop? He should include his A-level grades even if they were lower than his expectations. His first-class degree clearly shows that he can achieve academically and recruiters will tend to balance one positive academic achievement against a less desirable one.

Was it helpful?

Duncan says:

From the feedback from BP, I will definitely bullet-point my work experience and relate it to my university degree, especially my placement year and how I used the experience in my final year. I haven't included my A-level results (B in geography, D in physics and E in maths) as I felt that employers would not proceed with my application.